Even if the fight doesn't get that far, the US economy could be in for a beating. Therein lies the hypocrisy of the Republicans' position. Though they claim to be looking out for the country's long-term fiscal health by using the debt ceiling as way to force the issue on deficit reduction, in fact their hostage-taking could do lasting harm. The 2011 debt ceiling debacle led to a grim milestone — the first-ever downgrading of America's credit rating. Who knows how much more damage the US's standing as safe haven and reserve currency might sustain if the GOP follows through on its threat of a knockdown, drag-out fight.

So far, Obama has ruled out any extrajudicial end runs like minting a $1 trillion coin. Instead, he seems to be counting on sanity to bring the opposition to the bargaining table. But with large swathes of the GOP still in thrall to Tea Party ideologues, that's a dangerous gamble.

Funeral recession These days, practically nothing is immune to the economy's woes — not even an industry that caters to what would seem to be the one recession-proof commodity: death.

Trying times for Obama It was only a matter of time before President Barack Obama turned into a deficit hawk. But it is a measure of the desperation sparked by Scott Brown's election to Ted Kennedy's old Senate seat that Obama hatched before the conclusion of the 2010 congressional elections and unveiled a spending freeze.

Caprio's Clinton fixation It was the highlight of Democrat Frank Caprio's bid for governor: an endorsement by Bill Clinton before an enormous American flag at the Rhode Island Convention Center.

Smoke Local Lobsters, blueberries, potatoes, and . . . pot? As Maine's medical-marijuana program inches closer to business-as-usual, weed is on the verge of becoming a meaningful part of the state's economy — a budding piece of Maine's local, sustainable, pro-agriculture aesthetic.

Rhode Island's ticking time bomb This is a story about the pension crisis that's tearing apart Providence and Central Falls and just might lay waste to the whole goddamn state.

Talk time The state's largest newspaper company is about to negotiate its contract with its employees. With workers seeking a share of the company's newfound profitability, and owner Richard Connor striving mightily to stay in the black, this could go very smoothly, or be a bloody, destructive battle — with the quality of information available to Mainers hanging in the balance.

KEEPING THE BANKS IN CHECK | August 08, 2013 There is afoot a bipartisan effort to dust off a defunct law that could erect a sturdy guardrail against the systemic banking crises that nearly brought our country to ruin in 2008.

THE PART-TIME EPIDEMIC | July 10, 2013 When it comes to Obamacare, good thing Republican US Senator Susan Collins has the workingman's back. Or does she?

FIXING THE MESS OF STUDENT DEBT | June 13, 2013 On July 1, the interest rate on federal Stafford student loans is slated to jump from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent. Luckily, the forces of common sense have an ace up their sleeve.

IMMIGRATION BY THE NUMBERS | May 16, 2013 After many false starts, a convergence of public sentiment and political will has sped the country to the brink of comprehensive immigration reform. In purely economic terms, it's a no-brainer — one of those rare instances where a moral imperative neatly aligns with our national self-interest.

TRAMPLED BY A BULL MARKET | March 20, 2013 The tailwinds behind the rally are largely illusory. Wall Street owes its bullish run to systematically pillaging our retirement funds.